How are the Vu's going this year?

When I went to MM it was closed. Another reason I did not enjoy MM much.

I have had SFMM's and SFGreat Am's. The 2 days I was at SFOG this year it was down.

I am HOPING to get it this Saturday on my way south. If not I will check on the way back home.

-Tina

Theres soo much power in this ride, i don't know how some of you can be fans of TTD if you think this ride is weak. Flying through that station, and the drops are unbelievable. Backwards is just as awesome. Equal if not better than the sensations on TTD. But its all personal opinion, and I guess only some of us can enjoy it.

I agree, seating is unbelievably ridiculous, i don't understand how they thought it would maximize ride enjoyment and/or increase capacity, you would think they would know it was going to be a slow line as any boomerang coaster is.

I agree with the seating as well, but I do NOT think the ride is forceless. Raging Bull forceless? YES! Deja Vu forceless? NO! Riding in the back seat down the second tower, I can barely breathe the forces are so strong through that valley between the tower and loop.

In fact, the forces are too strong for my taste, if I ride in the back, oftentimes I come off with a throbbing headache from the forces, I prefer the front for the first drop and the speed through the station. The inversions are fun too in my opinion.

I have to say I really like them. It's what the Boomerang always should be, once you get by the godawful seating layout and inefficient operation.
-R

Isn't the seating layout a result of the B&M patent?

No, onceler that's Drachenfire you're thinking about. ;)

Re: the "Absolutely Insane" (TM) seating design, wouldn't you think someone would've come up with a way (by NOW) to use some paint on the concrete floor to show riders where THEIR particular seats are? All things considered, saving even a minute per dispatch by MARKING clearly where each rider is supposed to sit on the train would increase capacity a LOT....

Also, a better train design wouldn't HURT, but I understand that might be a bit more *expensive*...;)

The seating is better this year now that the obese metal sheets have been removed from the back of each car, and all riders have some sort of view atleast.

I hope so... when I rode the SFOG ride last year, I felt like I was riding in a dark closet- and that was sitting in an "end" seat!

rollergator: you have a great point. I don't know about the other parks with a VU, but if you understood the type of people Magic Mountain has to deal with on a daily basis, you would understand why painting numbers on the ground would do very little in helping capacity. AND you would understand why Magic Mountain has the reputation it does, because the people that work there are hardly better. Sometimes, I wonder if half of the guests/employees that I see on MM trip can even wipe their own butt.

SFoGswim: i've been on it this year as well, I don't know if the metal sheeting is gone from the one @ MM...do you mean the sheeting that had the sign that said "Don't Place Feet Here" or whatever?

The only thing I can think of for the train style seating is track style. Aren't most inverted coasters with that type of track 2 across? Maybe they were trying to fit as many seats into the little space of a station they had as possible. I'm not making excuses for these designers, i'm just trying to make sense of the situation!

Yes. All other Vekoma inverts are 2 across, as are all intamins. All B&M inverts are 4 across (should we go to GAm. on a field trip to observe?). The one Giovanola is, I believe, 3 across.

I would think the seating arrangement was a compromise between keeping the same track guage and a similar train length, but increasing capacity and "front row" seats.

Actually, Anaconda the Giovanola invert is 2 across, as seen here. Also, not all the Intamins are 2 seaters, the traveling EuroStar features B&M style 4 across seating.